Joe Murray's Journal

Here are some screen caps from the first final scenes coming back from animation. Jantze Animation in Georgia are doing a great job.

At times I have to stop and remind myself that I am holding standards for cartoons that cost around a half million per half hour to produce with a staff of 50 or so in house, and 200 in an overseas studio. For just the kickstarter money, ( and a hell of a lot of sweat equity) I’m hoping we will do the Kickstarter backers proud, and kick this web channel off in good fashion.

In some ways however, it’s the adage:  Inexpensive- Good Quality- Done Quickly    : Pick any two. Because it’s very difficult to have all three.

I also realize that my work has always been more personal stories. Not so much pop culture cartoons. So we will see how these play. Both of these episodes have some personal experience and metaphorical points that maybe some won’t get until they have a few watchings.

Hmmmm. We will see.

Voice Actor Jill Talley Shows How It’s Done.

I’ve given so much attention to Tom Kenny and Carlos A. for their voice work, I wanted to send some props’ along to the very talented Second City, Mr. Show actress Jill Talley for her work on these Frog In A Suit episodes.( She was also Gretchen and Nina in Camp Lazlo). This clip shows Jill in action perfecting lines for Peete’s crush Lilly Hopper, and I’ve included early rough animation to see how they play. You will also see me directing the voice session with my engineer Krandal Crews at Sunshine Studios. Hope you like!

I have to say that this KaboingTV, Kickstarter, Frog In A Suit roller coaster ride is nothing like I’ve ever encountered before. There are behind the scenes stories that I can’t talk about yet, but , depending on how this all turns out, would make a great book.

With any start up, there is enthusiasm, and then on days of extreme fatigue there is a “What the f*ck am I doing? feeling. I get a good nights sleep, remind myself what I’m trying to do, and hopefully how many artists it may have the possibility of helping, and I jump back on the horse.

I can tell you that these episodes are costing a hell of a lot more than the initial kickstarter money ( and good thing we went over, because after Amazon fees, kickstarter fees, cards not getting charged, and the money for thank you gifts, we ended up with almost exactly 16, 800. the original goal.)  But it’s mostly because of my need to do things right ( “Don’t do anything half-ass ” my Dad used to say) Yes, so I’m putting in full cheeks.

All I can do is do my best, and we will go from there. If it’s meant to work, and the marketplace is right for it, then we will move on from there.

I forgot to relay a really funny scene that happened over the weekend.

Having already had 3 books published ( Children’s books) it was always a crap shoot whether you would find them actually in the bookstore. Out of the millions of books competing for shelf  space in a highly competitive children’s book market, it was hard to place them in the larger book stores.

So, my daughters and I went to our favorite bookstore ( a Barnes and Noble) and the girls noticed me glancing over at the animation and art book section.

“Whaddya looking at Dad”?

“Oh just checking to see if they have my book in stock”. I was nervous. Didn’t know if I wanted to know.

Suddenly, they both grabbed each of my arms and started dragging me to the section “Let’s go see Dad! This is a big deal!!”

We started scouring the book titles. After a bit, I said. “It’s okay. It’s not here. Lets go”. But just then, like Charlie getting a glimpse of the Golden ticket, Rocko’s eye catches mine beneath a book on script writing. My oldest daughter Daisy saw it too. “It’s Here!!”

Trying to act cool. I just smiled, looking around at the other startled book buyers. My daughters on the other hand were all too keen on making sure everyone in that store knew that their Dad’s book was proudly sitting on the shelf of their favorite bookstore.

A moment I’ll never forget.

Although I love the summer, I’m enjoying getting back to some rhythm. Kids back at school. The episodes of Frog are progressing ( More in the quality aspect than quantity.) I’m not one to tweak until the cows come home, but I want these to be right. But I’m also having fun. It’s the pendulum, ( as Mr. Warburton quotes in my book) that swings from art to commerce that if you are not careful, will crack your skull open. It’s all a balance. Life and Art. Art and Work. Life and Work….. money?  That’s a whole other beast in itself.

I’m finding my job description as an Animator, producer, Entrepreneur, a creator with two network shows in the past that a lot of people have a strong connection to,,, keeps changing. I keep finding new situations where I go “Yes,,, this is important to my job description. Keeping this plate spinning is important to me. On top of Dad, Boyfriend, etc…. But the line between work and play is not so defined with these job descriptions. And I love that. Very fortunate.

Uh oh…. the phone is ringing. And I can’t find it under my pile of storyboard pages.  It’s here somewhere…….

On another note. ( and maybe I’m too sensitive to this stuff) my video blog with Tom talking about amputee’s. I didn’t want to come off like Tom is a pain in the Ass in records because he’s thinking about how other people feel. Tom is the opposite of a “pain in the Ass” in the recording booth. More of a delight, someone you watch in awe. I just found the whole conversation funny, and a good insight into how we discuss when we are crossing the line.

Okay… back to work.

Last chance to post some questions before the streamcast tonight ( 6pm Pacific California time). You can post them here, or twitter them @joemurraystudio.

Let me say up front, I probably won’t be answering “When is Rocko coming out with a proper DVD boxed set?” I get that question all of the time, and the answer is, “I have no idea”. I and others have had repeated attempts at trying to make that happen, and for some reason, Nick chooses not to. That’s all I can say on that.

What am I really excited to talk about? Of  course I will still answer Rocko and Lazlo questions, but I’m really excited to talk about the book, Frog in a Suit, and KaboingTV!   Hope you can make it!

When you write in a question, can you give us  your full name and where you are from?

Let me just preface this by saying, I have a real soft spot for anyone who has been dealt a blow in life , especially as a result of being sent into battle on behalf of this country, ( or any country). And I’m also an animal rights activist. But for some reason, I’ve used animals in my cartoons and have gorged on the imperfections of life. And when it comes to villains, or authority figures, I have not pulled any punches, and at times I’ve driven viewers to actually feel sorry for the archetypal bad guy. That said, I went about recording an insensitive cowboy industrialist toad and a French policeman with Tom Kenny and Carlos Alazraqui last week,,, and…. well…. this is how it went down:

I decided to create a one of kind first edition release date book, with drawings of all my main characters. It’s a real keepsake because it will be the only one signed and dated with Aug 24, 2010, and I doubt I will draw this many characters on a copy. Check it out on Ebay! I will also personalize it at your request.

So, with the help of Kevin Johnson, I’ve finally made the plunge ( or the leap, I should say) to Twitter. To get my “tweets” go to http://twitter.com/joemurraystudio and sign up. I’ll be sending exclusive info out, and also a heads up when a blog goes up, or an auction will end, or when I go live streaming like I will be this Tuesday on ustream.tv at 6pm psd.

I will also be using twitter during the live event so you can send in questions that I can answer, ( or comments.)

Mark your calendars for my first live event EVER! Tuesday, August 24th at 6 pm PSD, 9pm eastern on USTREAM.TV. (Yikes). I’m still working out the details on how the questions come in, via the chat screen on Ustream, or another method. But I will keep you posted. If you go to USTREAM.TV and sign up with a login name, you can join the chat while it’s going on. I will be monitoring the blog as well. You can pre-submit questions here. Obviously I can’t get to all of them, but I’m sure we will have a good time!

Of course this is all in connection with the release date of my new book “Creating Animated Cartoons with Character”, which I’m very  excited about.

I’m knee deep in getting these Frog episodes done, and preparing KaboingTV for a soft launch. In a way, I feel like the small business owner whipping up the first batches of his product on his kitchen table. Pot’s overflowing, things exploding. Trying out different recipes of just the right product that will sell in the market.  It’s pretty crazy, but fun crazy.

“Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities”- William Bridges

I’ve been thinking a lot about the course our lives take, and how we are more in charge than sometimes we think.

Back in 1986, at the tender age of 25, while still attempting to get a comic strip in the newspapers, I was sketching in my notebook, and suddenly wrote out ” If minds are going to watch the screen anyway, why not put something useful there? Create characters that entertain, provoke thought, and use the platform to help in other ways”. I’m not sure why I wrote this at that time. I had not yet discovered animation, never considered television as a useful place for anything, and the computer at the time was an infant that needed twenty codes to type a document. Yet after that, the world started spinning for me. I was on a path that I wasn’t quite aware of, yet felt so  right. I abandoned comic strips, and found animation. Even when I thought my future was in independent films for festivals, I got swept up in the wave of 90′s animation in television. I learned, studied. Rocko and Lazlo feel more like stepping stones for me, as well as the education of producing, managing crews, managing budgets, etc.

Over twenty years later, I feel I’m still playing out that goal. And I still have a ways to go.

I’ve cursed at times the need I have to remain so independent. I feels a lot easier to care for a family and have job security when one makes peace with working for someone else. It’s noble for sure. But for me, it’s a sweater that keeps you warm, but itches like hell. ( I think I stole that from Hunter Thompson.) There are many who have achieved high potential working for someone else. We are all different breeds.

The life of an independent artist/business owner was probably one of the hardest I could have aspired for. My Dad tried to talk me out of it. Loved ones got tired of watching me fall flat on my face. ( and trust me, I still do.) But for some reason, I keep getting up.

Some day I may not.

But until then,  I’ll keep carrying out my marching orders. It’s all a mystery, isn’t it?